A journal of my adventures through each game as I attempt to complete the Pokédex.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Entering Victory Road

“You can pass here only if you have the Earth
Badge. Oh! That is the Earth Badge! Okay, then. Please, go right ahead.”

As the last guard motioned for her to pass,
Green realized that she had finally made it to Victory Road. She had crossed
the entire region of Kanto, faced the top trainers in every town, and even
taken down a criminal syndicate. And it was all thanks to the team of monsters
she had raised, trained, and grown to love. Her friends were just as proud of
their skills and accomplishments as she was. They were all ready to make their
greatest accomplishment yet, but first there was the cave…

The entrance was small and it looked dim
beyond. The smell of damp, still air flooded Green’s senses as she took her
first step in. She could see movement in the shadowy distance. The wild Pokémon
here were stronger than wild Pokémon she had faced anywhere else, but she wasn’t
worried. Her Pokémon had faced and defeated stronger foes than these. She
called out Raichu to fend off any that were brave enough to attack.

“Raichu, come on out!” she declared as she
tossed the Poké Ball. “Any Pokémon would be foolish to try and take you on.”

“Chu!” Raichu said with confident smugness.

They began walking. The sounds of their steps
echoed along the cave walls. Green looked around. At the same time she saw some
steps, Raichu pointed to the wall just beyond them, saying, “Rai Chu Rai!”

“That wall… It doesn’t look natural. There
must be a way to move it. Let’s look around for a lever or a switch.” There was
nothing close to the wall, so they spread out. Green shouted, “Sandslash, give
us a hand!” and with a flash, Sandslash materialized in front of Green.

The three continued looking until Sandslash
called out, “Slash! Slash!” and jumped up and down pointing her long claws at a
strange tile on the ground.

“Good job! Now how do we activate it?” Green
walked over and stood on the pressure plate. She wasn’t heavy enough to cause a
reaction. “Hmmm…”

Then she spotted it; a large, round boulder
over by the stairs. “Sandslash, use your Strength. I bet that boulder is just
what we need to activate the plate.”

“Sandslash!” she claimed as she flexed her
arms and torso, and then dashed over to the boulder. Using her Strength,
Sandslash was able to push the boulder into position on top of the plate. A
loud “Click” and a low rumble told Green that the switch in the plate was
triggered and the wall had been moved out of their way.

As they made their way back to the steps to
move on, a passing Onix was startled. His roar echoed through the cave, sending
goose bumps down Green’s spine. “Raichu, your electric attacks won’t do any
good against that big guy.” Raichu gave an “humph” and crossed his arms as
Green continued, “Sandslash, use your Dig attack!”

Winking in Raichu’s direction, Sandslash leapt
into the air and dove at the ground, slashing her claws and burrowing into the
dirt. The noise of the earth shifting and the Onix roaring in anger, mixed with
the rising dust made it difficult for Green to sense what was happening between
the two, but she heard a loud smash and felt the floor shake as the wild Onix
attempted to slam his tail at the spot where Sandslash dove into the ground.

“Ha! You’ll have to be faster than that, Onix.
Alright, Sandslash, give it to him!”

Dirt and stone exploded from the ground below Onix
as Sandslash dug back to the surface to strike. Onix howled in pain as he was
pelted with dirt and claws. Onix’s eyes clamped shut, and he immediately went
silent and fell limply to the ground. The sounds slowly stopped echoing and the
dust and dirt in the air started to thin and settle.

“Nice job, Sandslash! Now let’s get going. I’m
ready to get to Indigo Plateau.”

The three of them walked past the place where
the fake cave wall stood a few minutes ago and turned a corner where they came
upon a person. Green motioned for her Pokémon to stop and the trainer looked
back at her.

“Was that you making all that noise!? I wonder
if you are good enough for me,” said a cool looking trainer with long purple
hair. “I’m Naomi. Let’s battle!”

“Okay, let’s battle. I’m Green, and I am more
than good enough for you,” she said with a smirk. “Go ahead, Raichu!”

“Go, Persian!” Naomi called as a long, slender
cat the size of a lion materialized in front of her.

“Raichu, start off with Double Team.”

“Chu!” Raichu cried. A small amount of static
flashed at his cheeks as Raichu twitched and suddenly there were two Raichu
facing Persian.

“Persian, use Payday!”

“Perrrr!” Persian hunched as if to pounce, and
the jewel on her head glowed. Coins began to materialize and fly from the gem
toward the twin Raichu. The image Raichu faded and the real Raichu was showered
in coins. Raichu flinched a few times, but swatted most of the coins with his
paws and tail. The attack didn’t do much to harm him.

“Let’s show Naomi our true power!
Thunderbolt!” With loud crackling and bright flashing, lightning bolts shot
from Raichu’s yellow cheeks and zapped Persian before she had a chance to
counter. Fur standing on end and mouth in the shape of a silent howl, the
electricity was too much for Persian and she fainted.

Just like the battle with Onix, Sandslash
jumped into the air and dove into the ground as if it was water and she a
diver. Just like the battle with Onix, Sandslash emerged from an explosion of
dirt and rocks right under Ponyta. Just like the battle with Onix, Ponyta
fainted from the torment of dirt and claws.

Raichu, Sandslash and Ponyta were pulled back
into their Poké Balls as Rapidash and Blastoise emerged from theirs.

Rapidash pawed at the ground and whinnied as
Blastoise’s cannons popped out of the compartments of his shell. Knowing that
the majority of the tunnel still lay ahead of them, Green wanted to finish this
battle and keep moving. She decided to go with Blastoise’s strongest attack.

“Blastoise, use Surf!”

“Blas!” Blastoise lifted his thick arms into
the air. Calling on the power of the water within the ground and walls of the
cave around him, Blastoise lifted a wall of water and sent it crashing at
Rapidash. With nowhere to run, Rapidash attempted to overpower the water with a
Fire Blast attack, but the water overcame the fire and Rapidash took the full
force of the tidal wave. Green was surprised its fiery mane and tail weren’t
extinguished. Unable to get back up from the wave, Rapidash whimpered before
submitting to her exhaustion. Then she was hit with a red beam and
dematerialized.

“I lost out… I never wanted to lose to
anybody, especially to a younger kid. Nice job.”

Green and Blastoise moved deeper into the
cave, on their way to the ultimate test.